From millstone to milestone! I’ve finished my book proposal

As you almost certainly know, I’ve been working towards a new book for a long time now. Before you get too excited, no, I haven’t finished it. There’s still a long journey ahead. But today I managed to bring the book proposal, which has sometimes felt like a millstone, into a shape ready to send to a literary agent.

A book proposal generally includes an excerpt of the book but otherwise it seems it can take quite a few shapes. For Tolkien and the Great War, I approached HarperCollins on my own account. For the proposal, I took advice from Douglas A. Anderson, best known for The Annotated Hobbit but experienced in publishing. He recommended a plain and informative document introducing myself, outlining the book’s themes, providing a chapter-by-chapter synopsis, and stating my target audience. It worked, so I did the same when I approached Frances Lincoln about The Worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien – and that worked too.

Above: Reviewing my chapter summary edits over lunch (Photo: Joe Tadie)

For Tolkien’s Mirror, I wanted someone else to take over the business side and perhaps help boost my potential income. It’s a rare author these days who actually makes a living from it. And as you know better than most, I can’t devote time to writing seriously without earning money from it. When I heard Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook praising Tolkien and the Great War on their hugely successful podcast The Rest Is History (Si apre in una nuova finestra), I sought advice from them about getting an agent.

I ended up talking to Tom’s agent’s colleague, who is also a Tolkien fan. And before long I sent him a draft book proposal along the usual lines.

It turned out not to fit the bill. The sample text was too long, the chapter summaries were too terse, the rest of the proposal was too formal. It took me a while to grasp what he actually wanted: something that will appeal to publishers as actual human beings – as readers. For guidance, he pointed me to the Númenor article (Si apre in una nuova finestra) I wrote for Smithsonian Magazine.

By forcing my nose to the grindstone whenever possible (and among other matters, woefully neglecting this site!) I’ve drafted something like that. With helpful comments from Steady supporter Edmund Weiner, I’ve somewhat reworked my sample chapter (also about Númenor). And I’ve expanded my chapter summaries – which turned out to be the biggest challenge.

Writing a book like this is like doing a jigsaw puzzle. A jigsaw with an unspecified, variable number of pieces that could fit each other in all kinds of ways … and with no picture as a guide. Over the years, I’ve done a great deal of research and drafted much material. For some chapters I’ve written long drafts and redrafts, reflecting new discoveries or shifts in my thinking. To understand exactly the shape of the book I want to write has also taken years, interrupted by writing The Worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien, doing much other work, and dealing with life’s complexities. I’ve considered and reconsidered where to deal with particular points, and how to relate them to each other. The work on this latest set of chapter summaries has finally produced a guide picture that I can feel thoroughly confident about.

I still have to see what the agent will say, but it feels as if I’ve turned a millstone into a milestone.

Thanks for all your support.